Sonication Enhanced Cornstarch Separation

Yellow dent corn soaked in deionized water at 52°C for 24 h without addition of SO2 was wet-milled using a modified 100-g laboratory procedure employing ultrasound treatment at different points in the milling process and compared to conventional wet milling and milling-only corn. Starch yields from ultrasound treatments varied from 66.93 to 68.72% and were comparable to conventional wet milling (68.92%). The ultrasound treated samples produced 6.35 to 7.02 more percentage point starch compared to the milling-only corn. Compared to the starch from milling-only corn, the ultrasound-produced starches showed a significant increase in whiteness and decrease in yellowness that are comparable to starches produced by conventional wet milling. Ultrasound treatment after the second grinding produced the highest starch yield and the lowest protein content in the resulting starch. The ultrasound-treated starches exhibited different pasting properties as evidenced by higher paste viscosities.